The Carling Currie Cup caravan rolls into Johannesburg this Saturday, and at the thunderous arena of Ellis Park, two sides with very different stories to tell will clash in a contest crackling with pressure and promise.
For DHL Western Province, it’s a mission to reboot. Their opening-round misfire left more questions than answers, but coach Labeeb Levy has responded not with panic, but with precision—like a surgeon adjusting his scalpel before the next incision.
Four calculated changes—two on the wings, two up front—suggest that Province aren’t coming to Ellis Park to survive the altitude. They’re coming to rise above it.
Out wide, Sako Makata and Jared Africa are handed starting jerseys—fresh legs to stretch the Lions’ flanks like defenders caught in a touchline tug-of-war. Junior Bok and Sevens livewire Gino Cupido waits in the shadows, ready to ignite if the attack needs a jolt of electricity late on.
Up front, former SA U20 skipper Zachary Porthen tightens the screws at tighthead prop, while Louw Nel shifts from flank to eighthman to take the reins at the back of the scrum. Gideon van Wyk now prowls the blindside, bringing fresh snarl to the loose trio. These aren’t tweaks. They’re reinforcements—more steel in the scrum, more sting at the contact zone.
“We’ve made some changes, but have looked to keep most of the combinations from our opening match so that the players can build an understanding and synergy,” said Levy.
“We saw some promising signs in the second half of our first game, and it will require a big lift in standards to take that forward against a competitive Lions side on Saturday.”
He’s right. A flicker won’t cut it. WP need full combustion in the engine room—cleaner breakdowns, fewer errors, and a backline willing to run like it’s the last play of a final.
But standing in their way is a Lions side that smells vulnerability. Coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has made three tweaks of his own—but his hand is guided by strength, not struggle.
The headline change? The return of openside juggernaut Renzo du Plessis. The 2024 Currie Cup Player of the Year slots in for the injured Izan Esterhuizen, having already left scorch marks off the bench in last week’s 46–5 dismantling of the Sharks. A menace at the breakdown and a missile on defence, Du Plessis will be eyeing WP’s rucks like a lion stalking a lone springbok.
“Renzo is a natural menace at the ruck,” Nkosi’s selections all but shout.
His partnership with Jarod Cairns and WJ Steenkamp gives the Lions a loose trio built for pressure and pilfer.
There’s also fresh bite on the bench. Marno Grobbelaar is poised for his Currie Cup debut at hooker, while loose forward Siba Qoma adds firepower to a finishing pack that already brims with potential.
The backline remains untouched, and why wouldn’t it? With Gianni Lombard slicing through defences like a scalpel from fullback and Lubabalo Dobela dictating the tempo from flyhalf, the Lions’ attack is purring.
Nkosi’s team, built on cohesion and confidence, isn’t just playing the game—they’re playing the moment. With Jaco Visagie’s experience anchoring the scrum and Ellis Park roaring like only it can, the Lions will look to shred WP’s plans at altitude.
For Western Province, it’s a shot at redemption in rugby’s toughest theatre.
For the Lions, it’s a chance to tighten their grip on early momentum.
And when the whistle blows on Saturday at 15h00, the only thing guaranteed is that someone’s claws will come out.
LIONS:
15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Raynard Roets, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (c), 1 Morgan Naude.
Bench: 16 Marno Grobbelaar, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Heiko Pohlmann, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Kelly Mpeku.
WESTERN PROVINCE:
15 Shilton van Wyk, 14 Sako Makata, 13 Luke Burger, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Jared Africa, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Gideon van Wyk, 6 Zain Davids (c), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Alex Groves, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole.
Bench: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Arno Gustafson, 19 Andre Goedhals, 20 Erhard Lambrecht, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Gino Cupido, 23 Tristan Leyds.
